Heavy-oil carbureter for explosive-engines.



M. BECK. HEAVY on. CARBURETER'FOREXPLOSIVE enemas.

APPLICATION FILED NOV-28, I913- Patented Aug. 10, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEETI M. BECK.

HEAVY OIL CARB'URETER FOR EXPLOSIVE ENGINES.

Patented Alig. 10, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

f 67%- //Zz%a/ 3e e/ APPLICATION FILED NOV-28,1913.

D I l OO OUT .0 6. 3 &O .7, l2? 9 W 5 4 W p z 1 4% w. 2 r 5 6 L 3 0 W /WMICHAEL BECK, 0F MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA.

HEAVY-OIL CARIBURETER FOR EXPLOSIVE-ENGINES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 10, 1915.

Application filed November 28, 1913. Serial No. 803,451.

To all whom it may concern "Be it known that I, MICHAEL BECK, a citizenof the United States, residing at Minneapolis, in the county of Hennepinand State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Heavy-Oil Carbureters for Explosive-Engines; and I dohereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descriptionof the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to whichit appertains to make and use the same.

My invention has for its objectitoploylde an improved carbureter forexplosive en gines, by the use of which, kerosene and heavierhydro-carbon oils or liquids may 'be used as a fuel for explosiveengines. 7

Generally stated, the invention consistsof the noveldevices andcombinations of devices hereinafter described and defined in the claims.

As a feature of the invention I utilize the exhaust from the explosiveengine as a means of heating the heavy oil and converting the same intoa gas or vapor before it is introduced to the carburetor, This ispreferably'accomplished by utilizing the oil heater as an exhaustmuffler.

Further, the invention provides means for converting one or severalexplosive charges of the heated oil into a gas or vapor for use instarting the engine. The invention also involves the further novelfeature of utilizing the thermo pile'or series of thermo electriccouples as a part or element of the oil heater as a means for chargingthe storage battery; and it further involves electric connections and anautomatic thermally actuated switch, whereby the charge of the storagebattery is utilized to convert the heavy oil into gas or vapor, asrequired in starting the engine.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein likecharacters indicate like parts throughout the several views.

Referring to the drawings: Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view illustratingthe complete apparatus as applied t'o' an explosive engine; Fig. 2 is aView chiefly in vertical section with some parts in full, showing thechief elements of the apparatus removed from the explosive engine; Fig.3 is a detail in elevation showing the thermally actuated switch; andFig. 4 is a section taken on the line a? w on Fig. 2.

The explosive engine which may be of any suitable type, is indicated asan entirety by the numeral 1. Its exhaust pipe 2 is connected to thecasing of the combined oil heater, exhaust mufiler, and electricgenerator, presently to be described.

The carbureter may be of any suitable or well known standard type. Thiscarbureter, as shown, comprises a casing 3 having a float controlled oilinlet valve l-5, and a hand operated needle valve 6, and provided at thelower portion of its main chamber with an air intake chamber 7. Airdrawn into the carbureter from the air intake chamber 7 is drawn upwardthrough a tube 8 that terminates in the upper portion of the mainchamber of the carburetor and delivers the air where it will becommingled with gas or vapor drawn into said carbureter casing throughthe port controlled by the said valve 4. The top of the carburetercasing 3 is connected to the admission port of theengine through a pipe9. In the bot-' tom of the air intake chamber 7 is a metallic cup 10,which, as shown, has a threaded hub screg ed into the bottom of the saidchamber' The casing of. the combined oil heater, mufiler and thermoelectric generator, as preferably constructed, is made up of two heads11 and a connecting shell, which latter is made up of a multiplicity ofannular thermo electric couples 1213. ments of these thermo electric'couples are connected together at their inner and outer edges muchafter the manner of an accordion or bellows, so that they form a thermoelectric pile adapted to generate an electric current when submitted toheat, and at the same time, constitute'a part of the casing of theheater. The elements 1213 of this thermo pile may be of any suitabledissimilar materials, such for. instance, as copper, bismuth andantimony, the engine exhaust pipe 2 is connected to a threaded hub ofThe eleone of the heads 11 and both of the said heads are provided withperforations 14 for the passage of the exhaust products of combustionfrom the engine. Preferably, the

heads 11 are axially connected by a tie bolt 15 convey pipe 20 that iswound in several concentric coils, and increases in size toward itsouter end. The extreme outer end of the said coil 20 is connected by apipe 21 to the extreme lower end of that portion of the carburetercasing 3 which has the oil inlet port controlled by the inlet valve 4.

The numeral 22 indicates a storage battery. V

Thenumeral 23 indicates the casing of a thermally actuated electricswitch. This casing 23 is preferably made of copper or brass but may bemade'of any other material which is a good conductor of heat, and it isformed with an extended hub portion that immediately surrounds and hasdirect contact with the oil or vapor delivery pipe 21. On its exposedside, the casing 23 is provided with a diaphragm 24 between which, andthe body of the said casing, a body of mercury 25 is confined. Thediaphragm 2d carries a sleeve like hub 26, preferably constructed ofmetal but insulated from the diaphra m 24c and the mercury 25. Thenumerals 2 28 and 29 indicate three cooperating electrical contacts. Thecontacts 27 and 28 are shown as applied to but insulated from the casing25, and the free end of the said contact 28 is connected to, and give alateral movement into and out of engagement with the contact 27 bymovements of the diaphragm 24. The contact 29 is a relatively fixedcontact with which, as shown, the outer end of the metallic hub 26, isadapted to be moved into and out of engagement, by movements of thediaphragm 24. The contact 27 is connected by a wire 30 to one terminalof a small heating coil 81, preferably constructed of very fine platinumwire and located within the oil cup 10 and immediately below the portcontrolled by the valve 6 of the carbureter. The other terminal of thiscoil 31 is connected to the cup 10 and is grounded through thecarbureter pipe 21, and the casing of the combined heater, mufiier andthermo electric generator. The contact 28 is connected to one terminalof the battery 22, by a wire 32, in which a switch 33 is preferablyinterposed. The other terminal of the battery 22 is connected to one ofthe casing heads 11. by a wire 34, and is connected by a wire 35 to oneof the terminal plates 13 of the thermo electric pile. The terminalplate 12, at the other end of the thermo electric pile is con nected tothe fixed contact 29 by wire 26. The said fixed contact 29 may also beconveniently attached to the switch casing 23 but must be insulatedtherefrom. Operation: Before the explosive engine has been started andwhile the parts are cold, the mercury or heat explosive element 25 ofthe automatic switch will be contracted and the contact 28 will then bein engagement with the contact 27, thereby closinsane ing the circuitfrom the battery 22 through the fine wire coil 31. The said coil 31 willthus be made red hot, so that when the heavy oil is allowed to drop ontothe same and into the cup l0, by opening of the starting valve 6, thesaid oil will be converted into a gas or vapor, or at least so highlyheated that it 1 will be readily taken up by the air drawn into thecarbureter through the air intake chamber 7, and thus an explosivecharge suitable for starting the cold engine is rendered available.

When the engine has been started and run for a very short time in thisway, the heat from the exhaust produced between and around thegenerating coils 20, will heat the oil on its way to the carbureter, andthis heat by conduction, will warm and expand the mercury 25 of theautomatic switch, and thus cause the diaphragm 24 to move the contact 28out of engagement with the contact 27 and into engagement with. thecontact 29. This will break the circuit through the coil 3h, and willclose the battery circuit through the elements of the thermo electricpile l2-13. The action of the heat from the exhaust on the thermoelectric pile will generate a current which willre-charge the storagebattery 22 during the entire time that the engine is in action.

When the engine has been once started in action, the heat from theexhaust will so heat the oil that it will be delivered to the carbureterin a very hot condition or in the form of a vapor which will veryreadily eommingle with the air drawn into the carbureter. Kerosene andeven much heavier oils may be used in this way.

'St-atements have been above made to the effect that the oil will bevaporized by the heat from the exhaust in the one instance, and by thehead coil 31 in the other instance, and this is the desirable and idealaction. However, in many instances, the heat may not be sulficient toproduce complete va orization, but it will be suficient to super eat theheavy oil, so that it will vaporize very quickly when brought intocontact with air which is being drawn into, or which has been drawn intothe carbureter.

What I claim is: v

1. The combination with an explosive engine, having a carbureter, of anelectric fuel heater associated with the carbureter thereof, a thermoelectric pile exposed to the heat of the exhaust from said engine, anelectric switch subject to the heat generated by combustion in saidengine, and an electric circuit including said heater thermo electricpile? and switch.

2. The combination with an explosive 'engine, having a carbureter, of anelectric heating coil associated with the carbureter thereof, a thermoelectric pile subject to the heat vof the exhaust from said engine, an

its

meemo electric switch subject to the heat generated by combustion insaid engine, a storage battery, and an electric circuit including 'saidheater, said thermo electric pile, said switchand said storage battery;

3. The combination with an explosive engine, having a carbureter, of athermo electric pile, exposed to the heat oi the exhaust from saidengine, a storage battery, an elec trio heating coil associated with thesaid carbureter, for use in starting theengine,

two electric circuits, the one including said thermo electric pileandbattery, and the.

MICHAEL BECK.-

Witnesses:

Y D. KILGORE, F. D. MaRcHAN'r.

